THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE (1962)

Have you ever heard the expression, 'Hey, don't go loosing your head'? If not, don't worry, because now you can see it in filmic-form. Or to be more precise about it, an 82-minute filmic-form developed in 1962. It was Directed by: Joseph Green; and Starred: Jason Evers, Virginia Leith, Leslie Daniels, with Adele Lamont.

Jan (Virginia Leith)? Can you hear me, Jan? It's your
fiancée speaking. Doctor Bill Cortner (Jason Evers). Now if you can manage to
open those beautiful big eyes of yours, I'd like to tell you what's been going
on.

You see, earlier in the day both you and I were in a car
crash together. And although I was lucky enough to walk away from it fairly
foot loose and fancy free, you on the other hand weren't as fortunate.

But don't worry though, my dear. Using my special serum my
friend Kurt (Anthony La Penna) and I were able to bring you back to life. Or to
be more specific -- your head back to life -- just your head! So with any luck
I might be able to find another body nearby and transplant it underneath your cranium.

No. Not that body belonging to the hideous looking creature
locked behind that door, princess. Some other body! You know. Like a body
belonging to a local stripper, perhaps? Or maybe a lingerie models body?

Then again, that's most probably why what next transpires
all goes menopausal when you look up at me and say, 'Over my dead body will you
get me a new body, Bill. I'd rather die instead'. As a doctor turns into a dirty
little perv - a disabled side-kick looses his bloody nerve - Doris Powell
(Adele Lamont) has an amazing rack - and at the end of the day, a hideous
looking creature finally fights back.

THE REVIEW:

On the whole I'd say 'The Brain That Wouldn't Die' reminded
me of an old Roger Corman horror flick developed during this era.
Essentially it's a fairly baroque adventure -- and I do mean fairly baroque --
about a scientist who looses his fiancées body -- literally -- and then, for the
so-called benefit of medical science, tries to make her whole again in a very
voyeuristic fashion.

Now one of the main reasons why I coined the word
'voyeuristic', dear reader, is because for a large chunk on the narrative the
main lead -- as played by Jason Evers -- spends his time trying to find a voluptuous
looking lady with very desirable attributes, who would suit both his and his
partners needs.

But come off it, my friend. If you were in this man's shoes,
wouldn't you spend your time consoling your girlfriend, rather than perving at
any bit of skirt who'd come your way? I wouldn't. And I don't think any other decent
boyfriend would, either. And that -- for me -- was the only thing about this
film I wasn't too keen on. The rest of it on the other hand was just my cup of
tea.

Simply put, it had a very earthy and suspenseful quality I
just adored following. Even though the acting style was somewhat mannered in
tone -- namely, those supporting players -- it did possess a fairly forward
thinking message relating to transplantation, that anyone -- like myself --
would understand due to its repercussive overtones.

Well, in the past I've had to have two corneal transplants
-- two, over a period of four years -- and in each case I thank medical science
for being daring enough to defy nature. Because if they didn't, I don't think
I'd be able to write this review -- insert joke here -- and that's one of the
main reasons productions such as this one possesses a good argument for medical
advancements, as well as the need to sanctify those advancements at any given stage
during their development.

Anyway. That's my two cents worth, dear reader. Take it or
leave it. Me, I'd say take it with a heavy dose of the following filmic-facts. (1)
'American International Pictures' first released this $62 thousand dollar
production in West Germany
on the exact same day Robert Kennedy visited the Netherlands.
It was on the 25th of February, 1962.
(2) Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'The Killer Of A Beautiful
Girl' in Greece;
'The Head, Which Will Not Die' in West Germany;
and during post production it was given the working-title, 'The Black Door'.
(3) The majority of this movie was shot on location throughout Tarrytown,
which is situated within the American city of New York.
(4) One of the taglines used to promote this picture, was, 'It's madness, not
science!'. (5) Virginia Leith hated her performance in this film to such an
extent, she actually refused to dub her own voice during post-production, and
it had to be dubbed by Doris Brent, who played the nurse. (6) Even though it
only took 13 days to shoot the entirety of this thriller, for various legal and
censorship reasons it took 3 years to be eventually released. (7) This flick
was rejected by the UK
film censors until it finally received a DVD certificate in 2006. (8) Adele
Lamont, who played the sexy model called Doris in this
movie, quit show business altogether after she appeared in this production. (9)
After this movie mooned at a hairdresser, Jason Evers starred in the TV series,
'Laramie'; Virginia Leith starred
in an episode of 'Baretta'; and Anthony La Penna narrated the documentary, 'Playgirls
International'.

Overall I'd say 'The Brain That Wouldn't Die' was a pretty
decent film to sit down and watch, especially if you're a voyeuristic
ex-transplant patient who wants to follow an adventure that's one part
titivating, one part mannered, and all parts baroque.

Come on, baby. You know you want it. As this film will
definitely give you head, Ha! Nuff said.